Hanger structure



June 30, 1970 c. v. COGDILL HANGER STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 18, 196'? Inventor Clefus V. Cogdill Attorney mm vm G m. Q

United States Patent Oflice 3,518,421 HANGER STRUCTURE Cletus V. Cogdill, 3650 N. Marshfield Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60613 Filed Oct. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 676,154 Int. Cl. F21v 21/22 U.S. Cl. 24085 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hanger for mounting between a pair of building beams in normally inaccessible places. The hanger has telescoped elements with pointed ends which are adapted to pierce into the beams when the elements are spread apart by a spreading tool which is inserted into slots in the elements. After the elements are spread apart by the spreading tool a locking block is inserted in the slots to prevent accidental withdrawal of the pointed ends by preventing sagging of the hanger when supporting a heavy fixture. The hanger has brackets at opposite ends of the elements for normal affixation to the beams when accessible and the brackets serve as reaction members in conjunction with the locking block to hold the points in the beams.

Cross references: This application is a companion application to my copending application Ser. No. 631,025 filed Apr. 14, 196-7, now Pat. No. 3,425,655.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The mounting of hangers for electrical fixtures has heretofore posed a serious problem in inaccesi'ble locations. The opening in the wall or ceiling through which the hanger is to be inserted into mounting position is usually limited to the dimensions of the junction box and it is virtually impossible to nail the usual hanger in place.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a novel hanger which is relatively easy to secure through a small access opening between a pair of building joists or beams.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel hanger which has a pair of telescoping channel sections with registering elongated slots therein for reception of a spreading tool, the sections having pointed distal ends which are adapted to pierce into the opposed joist-s between which the hanger is to be mounted.

Another object is to provide a novel latch for holding the channels extended whereby to prevent the pointed end from withdrawing from the beams.

Another object is to provide a latch which serves as a compression element whereby to stiffen the channels and prevent their sagging.

The invention contemplates a hanger having end brackets for nailing into the joists in installations where feasible, the brackets serving with the compression latch to prevent the channels from sagging and thus disconnecting from the beam-s.

These and other objects and advantages inherent in and encompassed by the invention will become readily apparent from the specifications and the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a building ceiling structure with the invention applied thereto and shown partly in longitudinal section;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged crosss-ectional view taken essentially on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of my novel hanger;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the latching block, and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section on a smaller scale showing the spreader tool applied thereto.

3,518,421 Patented June 30, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Describing the invention in detail and having a particular reference to the drawings, there is shown my novel hanger generally designated 1 mounted above a ceiling 2 of a building which included spaced joists 3, 4 supporting the ceiling. It will be realized that these joists are normally spaced 12" or 16" apart and the hanger comprises a pair of telescoping sections 5 and 5a which are adapted to be spread apart between the beams and are of sufficient length to have considerable overlap even in maximum operational extension.

It will be apparent that the sections 5, 5a are substantiallyidentical except they are right and left hand (so designated for purposes of clarity) and the channel portion 6 is. dimensioned larger than the portion 6a which slides within portion 6. Thus corresponding parts will be identifled by the same numeral except that the parts of section 5a .will be identified by the sufiix a after the numeral.

The channel 6 has a wall segment 7 arcuate in cross section which defines the top and sides of the channel and a pair of inturned coplanar flanges 8, 9 are integrally formed on the free edges of the segment 7. The inner channel 6a has a wall 7a which is complemental to wall segment 7 and has a pair of inturned flanges 8a, 9a which slide upon flanges 8, 9 respectively.

The upper portion 10 (so designated for purposes of orientation only in the following description) is provided with elongated slots 11, 11 each of which has generally parallel side edges 12, 13 which extend lengthwise of the channel and the ends of the slot-s are defined with transverse flat margins 14, 15. These slots are located in positions such that they will be only out of registry with identical slots 11a in the top wall 10a of the inner channel a distance equal to the sum of the lengths of the points .16, 16a formed on the distal ends of channels 6, 6a when such points are in contact with the surfaces 17, 18 of the joists 3, 4.

Thus upon application of a spreading tool 20 to the channels 6, 6a as best seen in FIG. 5, one leg 21 of the tool abuts edge 14 of slot 11 and the other leg 22 engages the edge 15a of the slot 11a, said slots being in position in substantial alignment with the access hole 22a in the ceiling.

Upon compressing the handles 23, 24 of tool 20, the points 16, 1611 are caused to penetrate the wood beams 3, 4 and the penetration continues until the external sides 25, 25a of the end brackets 26, 26a, which are formed integrally on the outer ends 27, 27a of the sections 6, 6a bear tightly against the confronting faces 17, 18 of the building beams.

It will be noted that the points 16, 16a are cut out of the brackets 26, 26a and form triangular shaped apertures therein.

The end brackets 26, 26a, which are generally flat plates with nail holes 28, 28 and 28a, 28a therein and under normal circumstances would be nailed to the joists, serve as stops and provide a slight resilient spring back such as will cause the compression locking block 30 to be held tightly between the edges 14, 15a so that it will not readily fall out and serve as beam loading means.

The block 30 is of rectangular form and has lateral dimensions such as will fit between surfaces 12, 13 of slot 11 and 12a, 13a of the registering slot 11a. The block 30 is T-shaped in side elevation and has end flanges 32, 33 which extend over the upper edge 34 of the channel section 7 beyond the margins 14, 15. The block is insertable endwise through registering slots 11, 11a and the lower shorter portion of the body of the block is lowered into companion slots 11, 11a and the edges 36, 37 of the block snugly fit against the edges 14, 14a and plish'd viihilYhe"toofis' spreaaiagthe channels. If this is not feasible because of limited space, then, a slightly shorter block is .used upon the tool being Withdrawn. The eventual spring back will cause the channels to retract and thus effectively lock against the ends of the shorter block I 1 1 a a It will be realized that the end brackets 26, 26a serve in this structure as fulcrums or reactionrnembers in resisting downward-bowing of the channels in supporting a fixture (notishown) intermediate their ends, which-fixture-Would be carried from' a mounting assembly=-40 comprising a bolt-41-having ahead 42 fitted into the cavity .43'within the-inner channel 6a, the shank 44 of the bolt extending through. the aligned slots 45, 45a (FIG. 2) of the channels 6, 6a and the head 42'bearing against the upper sides of-the flanges '8a, 9a; A nut '46 is threaded on shank 44 and is tightened against the undersides of the flanges 8, 9 of channel'section -7. Thus'the mounting nut and bolt is adjustable lengthwise of the hanger whereupon the nut is tightened then -inplace. The shank extends'into a threaded portion of the nut 46 which has a shoulder 46b which bears against the upper side 47 0f the top wall 48 of a junction box 50 located in the opening 22a. The shank and nut portion 49 extend below wall 48 through an aperture 50' in wall 48 and a locking nut 51 is then threaded on portion 49 against the undersid of the wall 48.

It will be readily noted that a novel and effective hanger structure has been provided. The parts'cooper'ate in a novel and effective manner to retain the hanger in tight assembly with the beams and to sustain an adequate weight. The novel hanger is easy toapply either in (ii flicult locations or in normal installation. The locking block not only holds the sections from removing acci dentally but also rigidities the construction and serves as a load transfer member between the two channels,"

It will be understood that the preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and that various other forms thereof will now become readily apparent tot'hose skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims. I claim: 1. A hanger for mounting between a pair of normally inaccessible spaced beams comprising a pair of telescoping sections, each section being generally U-shaped in cross-section and each having a pair of inturned lower flanges in interlocking engagement with each other, each section having an upper wall portion with a plurality of spaced slots elongated lengthwise of the section, each slot defined by side edges extending lengthwise of the section and end edges extending transversely of the section, each section having a transversely extending end flange for engagement with the adjacent beam, a sharp pointed spur struck from each end flange at the juncture thereof with the related section and extending outwardly therefrom in longitudinal alignment therewith, said slots in one section being in partial registry with respective slots in the other section in the extended unsecured position of the hanger between saidbeams, said slots adapted to receive a spreader tool therein between the end surface of a selected one of the slots in one section and an opposed end edge of the registering slot in the other section, said tool adapted to spread the sections apart to cause the spurs to penetrate into the beams for securing the hanger thereto, and a locking element insertable into registering slots of said sections after the same are spread apart and secured to the beams and comprising a block fitting into the registering slots and having ends in engagement with the opposed end edges, and said block having means interlocking with said sections to prevent its accidental disengagement with the sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner M. H. HAYES, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

